Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm has consistently taken responsibility for the Cardinals ending last season with three consecutive losses.
U of L was 10-1 before losing to Kentucky in the Governor’s Cup, falling to Florida State in the ACC championship game and dropping its finale against USC in the Holiday Bowl.
“You’ve got to be sharp in every aspect,” Brohm said. “So that, in combination with some mistakes we want to correct on the field, are just simple things that I don’t want to elaborate too much on, but there are things we all could have done better, including myself and our coaches. We’ve got to make sure that we have the best plan together to help our players succeed at a high level.”
For Cardinals linebacker TJ Quinn, the ACC championship game taught him to take advantage of every opportunity. The memory of FSU doing that lingers in Quinn’s mind eight months later.
Tailback Lawrance Toafili followed up a 73-yard run with a 2-yard score to give FSU a 10-3 advantage in the third quarter.
“I feel like maybe I could have done something better,” Quinn said, “or just made sure that I maybe had everybody lined up, or just making sure everybody was ready for that play because I think they had got in the Wildcat before that, earlier that game. So, we should have maybe expected that to come.”
Safety Devin Neal has been on the winning and losing side of a conference championship. He was on the sidelines for Baylor’s 2021 Big 12 championship win over Oklahoma State.
“I feel like it helps when it comes to the big-game situations, like not losing your poise, your composure,” he said about playing in the conference title games. “It’s just a nice experience, I feel like, (that) could be shared whenever it comes to any huge game we’re going to be in this season.”
Louisville has its share of big games this season. The Cardinals go to Notre Dame, Clemson and Kentucky and host Miami. With their returning players and portal signees, the Cardinals have solid veteran leadership.
U of L began fall camp Wednesday and hosted its media day Friday. Here are a few takeaways:
Lance Robinson out for season
Louisville’s first practice was halted briefly Wednesday when offensive lineman Lance Robinson was hurt during 11-on-11 drills. Favoring his left side, Robinson had to be helped off the field and missed the rest of practice.
On Friday, Brohm announced that Robinson would be out for the season. The senior transferred to Louisville from Houston last year and only played 42 snaps at right guard in the Holiday Bowl. Robinson’s season-ending injury is the second consecutive fall camp in which the Cardinals lost a player. Last year, safety MJ Griffin tore his ACL.
“Those things happen whether you’re tackling live or not,” Brohm said. “It’s something that you just do your best to try to teach guys to stay up off the ground, how to practice as a professional, which is what you do at the next level, and no matter what tempo or whether it’s live tackle on the ground or not, you’re smart, and you’re working at your craft and your game.”
Although the injury affects Louisville’s depth, the Cardinals still have Austin Collins and Georgia Southern transfer Rasheed Miller, who took first-team reps at right guard during the first practice. Renato Brown, who started the 2023 season as Louisville’s starting right guard, is expected to be back after a season-ending knee injury last year at Pittsburgh.
Mason Reiger’s status uncertain
Like the offensive line, U of L’s defensive line also might be without a player. Defensive lineman Mason Reiger’s likelihood of playing in 2024 is questionable. Reiger, an end, had knee surgery in the offseason that “didn’t go exactly the way he wanted, which caused it to push the return date back farther,” Brohm said. Reiger will be out for fall camp while rehabbing his knee.
“Whether we can get him back or not during the season remains to be seen,” Brohm said.
In the offseason, the Cardinals added more pieces to the defensive line, including Myles Jernigan and Richard Kinley.
“We do try to err on oversigning, number-wise, on the offensive (and) defensive line, to make sure we have enough guys,” Brohm said. “To me, that’s where the great teams are really good, so that they’re able to win in the trenches.”
Expectations were high for Reiger after his strong 2023 campaign. He had 22 tackles, six for loss, five sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. He also had the team’s second-best pass rush grade (80.6) behind Ashton Gillotte (81.6).
Adding healthy MJ Griffin
Louisville’s secondary got a boost not only with cornerback Quincy Riley coming back but also a healthy Griffin. Sporting a compression sleeve on his left leg, the safety is full go and ready for the season. Prior to Griffin’s injury during fall camp last year, U of L defensive coordinator Ron English said Griffin looked like the team’s best defensive back.
Brohm challenged Griffin to be the “quarterback of the secondary” to make sure the DBs are lined up correctly and ready to go.
“He definitely studies the game,” Brohm said of Griffin. “He understands what we’re doing. He wants to play extremely well…
The Courier Journal
